Toubab Krewe’s CARNAVALITO, a two-day mini-fest, has been announced to take place at the Pisgah Brewing Company in Black Mountain, NC on Friday, July 13th and Saturday, July 14th, 2012. The outdoor event will feature headlining sets from Toubab Krewe as well as a different roster of supporting bands and DJs each day including Donna the Buffalo, Ivan Neville’s Dumpstaphunk, Secret Agent 23 Skidoo, Rayna Gellert and DJ Chalice. DJ Equal will top off both nights with indoor late night sets. A shuttle system is conveniently available to travel between a local campground and the event.

Nestled in the Blue Ridge Mountains, a KOA campground is located just one mile from the venue. CARNAVALITO attendees are encouraged to stay for the weekend and receive a 10% discount on tent and RV camping with the code PB. All sites come equipped with water and electricity. View the map and reserve camping spaces online through koa.com/campgrounds/asheville-east.

Shuttles will be traveling between the campground and venue as well as between downtown Asheville and the Pisgah Brewery. Look for shuttle details coming in May at pisgahbrewing.com.

Tickets are $41 (two-day admission) and $26 (one-day admission) and go on sale Tuesday, May 1st through the Pisgah Brewing Company event site (pisgahbrewing.com/events). VIP packages will also be available for $76 (two-day VIP admission) and $51 (one-day VIP admission) and include early entry to the event, a private guided brewery tour and tasting, preferred stage viewing, and more. All attendees who purchase a two-day ticket by July 1, 2012 will receive an unreleased Toubab Krewe summer EP and a Toubab Krewe beverage koozie.

CARNAVALITO is a family friendly event. Kids ages 10 and under are free with a ticketed adult. On Saturday, children of all ages will dance to the rhythms and rhymes of Secret Agent 23 Skidoo, aka “The king of kid-hop.”

Toubab Krewe will donate one dollar from every CARNAVALITO ticket purchased to Instruments for Africa, a not-for-profit organization that aims to empower underprivileged and at-risk youth in Mali through the preservation of traditional music and arts. Toubab Krewe and Instruments for Africa have launched a campaign to build the Krewe House, a music school project set to break ground in 2013. For more information, visit instruments4africa.wordpress.com.

Dreamspider Publicity is so excited about MerleFest 2012! Dreamspider is working with 5 acts that will be performing this weekend including Donna the Buffalo, Red June, The Honeycutters, Johnson’s Crossroad, and Jonathan Scales Fourchestra. Both Red June and The Honeycutters have albums due out soon! Please click on the images for links to their websites.

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Donna the Buffalo’s feel-good, groove-oriented, danceable and often socially conscious music all began over twenty years ago with roots in old time fiddle music that evolved into a soulful electric Americana mix infused with elements of cajun/ zydeco, rock, folk, reggae, and country. Donna the Buffalo is known for touring the country remaining fiercely independent as one of the industry’s most diverse roots-music bands and has “earned a reputation as one of the most respected, eclectic and hardest-working acts today,” praises Encore. The dynamic songwriting tandem of vocalists Jeb Puryear and Tara Nevins have penned over 180 songs in their collaboration with DTB and have many more in the making.

Saturday, April 28, 2012
Creekside Stage: 2-3:30PM Tara will sit in for a song with Peter Wernick’s Flexigrass

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Sunday, April 29, 2012
Traditional Tent: 11:30AM-12:30PM Tara will take part in the “Women Who Sing Traditional Music” workshop

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Red June is an acoustic trio based in Asheville, NC who creates and performs beautifully distilled Americana music. They are making waves with their dynamic, yet refined sound that features striking 3-part harmonies, tasteful instrumental work and honest, soulful songwriting that seamlessly blends old-time, bluegrass, roots rock and traditional country music. Poised to release their second full-length album, Beauty Will Come, on June 5th, 2012, listeners can expect an album to fall in love with. “The record is a brilliant integration of old-time, bluegrass, and beyond, and feels like a holding of hands… the blend is beautiful,” says singer/songwriter Kari Sickenberger of Polecat Creek. Red June is made up of Will Straughan on resonator guitar, vocals and guitar, John Cloyd Miller on mandolin, vocals and guitar, and Natalya Weinstein on fiddle and vocals.

The Honeycutters are excited to introduce their second full length studio release, When Bitter Met Sweet this spring. Like their first release, Irene, When Bitter Met Sweet features singer/songwriter Amanda Anne Platt, who has been hailed as “one of the best songwriters coming out of WNC these days” by WNCW programming director Martin Anderson. Peter James accompanies her on lead and rhythm guitar as well as harmony vocals. The Real Southern Say, “I can see a day when her name is mentioned alongside Lucinda Williams, Mary Gauthier and Gillian Welch. She’s just that good.”

Johnson’s Crossroad has been described by friends and fans as everything from Appalachian Soul” to “Hillbilly Metal.” The band blends blues, roots-rock, folk, bluegrass, and Appalachian Old Time for a sound that The Daily Times’ Steve Wildsmith calls “both mournful and jubilant, breezy and graveyard serious.” He goes on to comment that frontman Paul Johnson’s voice “barely rises above a growl, but he stretches that sound to encompass the experience of a train-hopping hobo and the wisdom of an old man recalling loves lost and wars fought from the porch of a backwoods cabin.” Watching his back is mandolin player Keith Minguez, a strong friendship at the core of the group… ironically enough the band originated on Keith’s first visit to MerleFest watching John Hartford perform.
*Johnson’s Crossroad MerleFest Schedule:

Classically trained composer turned steel pan maestro and front man of the Fourchestra, Jonathan Scales is heavily influenced by the complexity of banjo virtuoso Bela Fleck to the hustle of Jay-Z and is known for his unique presentation of the Steel Pan that brings the instrument into new realms of musical influence and has been called, “… a rising star of the steel drums” by Traps Magazine and “The Real Deal [with] a Thelonius Monk-like attitude with a Mozart creativity that works” by Pan on the Net. Fusion-chops bassist, Cody Wright provides the harmonic support for Scales’ sound, while jazz/hip-hop drummer, Phill Bronson, drives the time-shifting, modern grooves. Premier Steel Pan Magazine When Steel Talks says, “At the end of the day, Scales is going to be a major play in rewriting the books on steelpan music outside of the box.”

Like their namesake heirloom apple variety, Red June has strong roots in the Appalachian tradition while constantly forging new ground in Americana music.

Red June is an acoustic trio based in Asheville, NC who creates and performs beautifully distilled Americana music. They are making waves with their dynamic, yet refined sound that features striking 3-part harmonies, tasteful instrumental work and honest, soulful songwriting that seamlessly blends old-time, bluegrass, roots rock and traditional country music. Poised to release their second full-length album, Beauty Will Come, on June 5th, 2012, listeners can expect an album to fall in love with. “The record is a brilliant integration of old-time, bluegrass, and beyond, and feels like a holding of hands… the blend is beautiful,” says singer/songwriter Kari Sickenberger of Polecat Creek.

Red June is made up of Will Straughan on resonator guitar, vocals and guitar, John Cloyd Miller on mandolin, vocals and guitar, and Natalya Weinstein on fiddle and vocals. The three have been longtime friends and first jammed together at a pickin’ party in Asheville in 2005. In late 2008 they formed Red June and went on to release their debut album Remember Me Well in 2010. Remember Me Well was voted the #1 regional release of 2010 by the listeners of the southeast’s premier independent radio station WNCW. “For those who seek well-crafted songwriting and impeccable musicianship, you just can’t go wrong with the acoustic instrumentation and powerful harmonies of Red June’s Remember Me Well. It’s an exciting debut from a collective of outstanding performers,” writes Chris Mateer in No Depression.

Beauty Will Come was recorded and mixed in late 2011 at Hollow Reed Arts Studio in Asheville by musician/engineer extraordinaire Chris Rosser, who co-produced the record along with Red June. The innovative young graphic artist, Peter Gaillard, designed the album art using an old lithograph of a Mourning Cloak butterfly. The image resonates with the album’s themes of transition, hope, loss and renewal.

More personal than their debut album, Beauty Will Come begins with an uplifting song by Straughan titled “These Old Chains.” “Every Hard Mile”, by Miller, is an expansive song featuring the band’s signature 3-part harmonies. Track three is an exciting old-time inspired fiddle tune written by Weinstein & Miller titled “Piney Branch Breakdown.” Straughan then brings us “All that the Fall Leaves,” a playful waltz about the search for true love.

“Bittersweet” is a pensive song from Weinstein, and is the song from which the album title was drawn. Next is the only cover song on the record, a gospel a capella originally recorded by Ralph Stanley called “I’m Willing to Try.” Following, is John’s nod to his bluegrass heritage with “Cloud of Dust.” Straughan’s beautiful and powerful “Soul’s Repair” follows and Miller then brings us the light-hearted “Foolish Me.” Next is a set of Irish reels, “Scott’s/Connors” penned by Straughan and named after his young guitar student and student’s brother. The final track on the album “Red Sky of Morn” is a collaborative song written by all three band members along with Laurelyn Dossett.

Red June is already well underway to becoming a longtime southern favorite, akin to the Appalachian heirloom apple variety from which they gleaned their name. Ripening early with a full balance of flavors, Red June is touring across the country and has performed at the renowned Music City Roots live radio show in Nashville as well as the Bristol Rhythm & Roots Reunion, Shakori Hills Grassroots Festival and Suwannee Springfest. They will also be performing three days at the 25th anniversary MerleFest in April of 2012. As acclaimed songwriter & musician Joe Newberry says, “Red June is one of our truly great bands. They never fail to talk the talk and walk the walk.” Red June is sure to capture eyes and ears with their new release, Beauty Will Come.

Join Asheville’s music and film elite on the red carpet for the 5th Anniversary Celebration of Music Video Asheville on Wednesday, May 9that the Cinebarre. Watch music videos by Asheville’s premier musicians and filmmakers on the big screen as they vie for the $500 cash prize and studio time at Echo Mountain. MVA’s mission is to network musicians and filmmakers so please bring business cards, stickers, show fliers to mingle about when the doors open at 6pm. Donned in your Grammy-style attire (of course with an Asheville flare) you can sip champagne and pose for the paparazzi on the red carpet until seating starts at 7:15. Don’t miss this all-star event and your chance to vote for your favorite Asheville music video!

Thanks to Asheville’s supportive music community, this event usually sells out and fills up quick. Please arrive early to get a good seat. Advance tickets re on sale now and can be purchased at the Cinebarre, Harvest Records, & Orbitz DVD in West Asheville, The One Stop and The Honeypot in downtown. General admission is $8 in advance and $10 at the door.

For those wishing to arrive in style and depart responsibly, board The New Belgium BrewingVIP Party Bus which picks up and drops off at the Official After Party at One Stop Deli and Bar with DJ Molly Partiand Par(The after-party is $5 or included with VIP ticket purchase). VIP is $30 and includes pickup and drop off at Cinebarre, champagne and New Belgium beer on the bus, red carpet drop off in a classic car, VIP seating, and admission to after party. Only 30 VIP tickets are available and they can be purchased online or at The One Stop or Harvest Records.

Stay tuned to MVA’s Red Carpet Sponsor 98.1 The River for announcements about a VIP ticket giveaway in the coming weeks. We will also be making announcements about the who’s who of entries as well as information of the guest speakers and the judging panel!

Special thanks to our sponsors: 98.1 The River, The One Stop, and New Belgium Brewing as well as the MVA ticket outlets. Music Video Asheville 2012 is produced by Lush Life Productions, theONcorps, Sound Mind Creative, and Dreamspider Publicity. If you are interested in volunteering or being a sponsor, please contact Kelly Denson via email at kelly at lushlifetoday dot com or call 828-515-1081.

Ticket Details:

$8 adv/ $10 dos general admission

Tickets are now available at:

Harvest Records, The One Stop, Orbitz DVD, The Honeypot and The Cinnebarre

In a world that is becoming increasingly digitalized and impersonal, the Honeycutters are building a reputation based on live performance and songs that tend to stick with you. Fitting into Americana realm, Mountain Xpress’s Alli Marshall calls The Honeycutters’ sound, “Old school country in the truest sense… free of twang and ten-gallon hats but full of real emotion, family history, quick wit and strong liquor.”

In an interview with the Folk to Folk Blog, Amanda says that part of the Honeycutters appeal is that their sound harkens back to simpler, more honest times. “In times like these, people want something real,” she said. “They’re just really craving something that’s just going to connect them to that basic human pool of emotion.”

The Honeycutters are excited to introduce their second full length studio release, When Bitter Met Sweet on June 5th, 2012. They are hosting their Asheville CD release show at the Grey Eagle on Saturday, May 5th. Copies of the album will be available at the show. Moses Atwood opens the show, which starts at 8pm sharp. The Honeycutters will also be making an appearance on WNCW’s Studio B during the 11 o’clock AM hour on Thursday, May 3rd… tune in at http://wncw.org.

Like their first release, Irene, When Bitter Met Sweet features singer/songwriter Amanda Anne Platt, who has been hailed as “one of the best songwriters coming out of WNC these days” by WNCW programming director Martin Anderson. Peter James accompanies her on lead and rhythm guitar as well as harmony vocals. They are backed up by Tal Taylor’s signature mandolin playing, Ian Harrod on bass, and Jon Ashley on drums creating an original brand of Americana that has proved equally appealing to both the musician and the music lover, the country and the city, and the old and the young.

Platt’s songs are shaped by a raw honesty that comes straight from the heart and emits a sort of melancholy happiness. The album features 11 tracks that touch upon childhood and loss of innocence, finding a sense of belonging and one’s voice, truth, love and patience, traveling and embarking on new life-journeys (and the fears that go along with these), and the understanding that comes about when life’s circumstances come full circle.

The title track, “When Bitter Met Sweet” is a song about the end of love looking back at the beginning. Platt says, “I think it’s important not to lose sight of what was good about something even if it is ending.” “For Eleanora,” was inspired after reading a biography of Billie Holiday and reflects on a similar thought of polarities that, “It seems like so often the partners of extreme talent and specialness are self-destruction and doubt.”

The song “90 Miles (The Tennessee Song)” is featured on Blue Ridge Outdoors Trailmix for 2012 Merlefest Artists. It was written after her first trip to International Folk Alliance in 2010, an event that can be quite overwhelming at first. An admitted introvert, Amanda was faced with the challenges of how to be heard amongst all of the activity of events such as these. And make herself heard is exactly what she went on to do; becoming a finalist at 2011 Merlefest’s Chris Austin songwriting contest for her song song “Little Bird” (unrecorded). She was asked to return as a guest judge for the contest, along with Jim Lauderdale, for the 2012 Merlefest (Where The Honeycutters will also be performing a few sets this year). The same song won first place in the Great Lakes Song Contest in February 2012.

“All I Got, ” is a song Amanda calls, “a love song I wrote a long, long time ago, before I had actually ever been in love” and was selected for WNCW’s 2010 Crowd Around the Mic Vol. 14.

“Fancy Car” features Platt’s father on harmonica. He also sits in on “Not Over Yet” which she says that when she sings it she imagines a child leaving home for the first time, wanting freedom but scared of what it might cost.

When Bitter Met Sweet was co-produced by Amanda and Peter with the assistance of Aaron Price, and was recorded at Echo Mountain Studios in Asheville, NC after securing funding through a successful Kickstarter campaign. Along with the full band, many special guests make appearances on the album including Matt Smith (pedal steel and dobro), Nicky Sanders (fiddle), Mark Platt (harmonica), Je Widenhouse (coronet), and on drums Mike Rhodes and Richard Foulk and for various songs. The album was engineered (and partially mixed) by Jon Ashley with the assistance of Julian Dreyer, mixed by John Keane and mastered by Dave Harris at Studio B Mastering in Charlotte, NC.

Their first full length studio release Irene, released in May 2009, has landed them in Ian Hughes’ NoDepression Podcast’s Top 20 of 2009, Fret Knot Radio Hour’s “Nine you need to know from ’09”, and #32 in WNCW’s listener voted Top 100 of 2009.

Since putting out Irene the Honeycutters have shared the stage with such Americana favorites as Tony Rice, The Greencards, Jill Andrews, The Steep Canyon Rangers, Donna the Buffalo, and The Seldom Scene. They have been voted Western North Carolina’s favorite local Americana act (2011 Mountain Xpress reader’s poll) and delighted audiences from upstate New York to Seattle, Washington. They are currently touring around the release of When Bitter Met Sweet.

“Amanda’s lyrics are both sardonic and sweet, which adds a contemporary element to their country twanged Americana sound [which] is more influenced by the harmonic tendencies of country singers like Johnny Cash and June Carter” —Folk to Folk Blog.

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“I recommend the Honeycutters not only because they’re some of the best my hometown of Asheville, NC, has to offer. Their music embodies a very catchy, accessible, optimistic sort of spirit so frequently lacking in folk circles (where brooding, hyper-analytical music reigns supreme). What’s more, like Carolina Story, they’re a great band replete with tasty harmonies.” –Kim Ruehl, Folk Music About.com

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“If anyone can make this old metalhead want to whip out the cowboy boots and hat, order a couple of Budweisers and spin my woman around the dance floor, the Honeycutters can.” –Brent Fleury, Bold Life Magazine